Didn’t you just love the editorial cartoon in today’s Globe and Mail?

I’d never have predicted that a changing of the guard at the National Gallery of Canada would make the national news. I might have been right, if it weren’t for the voyeur-tainment value of the internal emails that circulated during the saga.

For many years, we’ve told corporate spokespeople that if they don’t want to read something in the newspaper, they shouldn’t let it pass their lips. In this electronic world, the adage must be extended to the keyboard, too.

Most of us will soon forget this particular tussle, but the art world is watching closely, and despite a valiant attempt at damage-control, the credibility of the institution and the individuals have been damaged.  

If you were a board member or communications advisor to the National Gallery, how would you have responded to the media interest in this story?